A frequent problem attendant with pet ownership is the confinement of an unsupervised pet to a designated area such as the pet owner's yard. Without proper confinement, a pet may run free thereby creating not only the potential for annoying a particular neighbor or even causing damage to a neighboring property, but also the potential for endangering the animal itself.
While some pet owners have resorted to fences and other physical barriers to confine the animal, financial and aesthetic considerations often make physical barriers unacceptable. Depending on the type of fence selected, the cost of fence erection can be quite high. On the other hand, a relatively inexpensive fence may be ineffective at animal containment as well as unsightly.
As an alternative to physical barriers for pet confinement, electronic animal confinement systems have been employed. In a conventional electronic animal confinement system, a transmitter is connected to a wire loop antenna having sufficient length to surround a designated area in which the pet is to be confined, such as the home owner's yard. The antenna may be laid directly on top of the ground or may be buried slightly below ground surface. A relatively low frequency signal in a sub-broadcast range of frequencies is transmitted over the wire loop antenna. In order to confine the animal within the designated area enclosed by the wire loop antenna, an animal collar carrying a signal receiver is placed on the animal. The signal receiver incorporates an electric shock generator which produces an electric shock for transmission to the animal under predetermined conditions. For example, when the animal moves within a selected distance of the wire loop antenna, the signal receiver on the animal collar responds to the signal being transmitted over the wire loop antenna and causes the electric shock generator to administer an electric shock to the animal. Typically, the electric shock produced by the electric shock generator is transmitted to the animal by a pair of electrodes which project from the signal receiver in position to engage the animal.
In certain conventional arrangements, the electrodes also function to attach the signal receiver onto the animal collar. In order to mount the signal receiver on the collar, the electrodes are unscrewed from openings in the signal receiver. Holes in the animal collar are then aligned with the openings in the signal receiver. The electrodes are then inserted through the holes in the animal collar and screwed back into the openings in the signal receiver to thereby attach the signal receiver to the animal collar. One of the drawbacks with this type of arrangement, however, is that wetness on the animal collar has a tendency to short out the electrodes. Another problem is that the collar often exhibits excessive wear and tear at the collar holes.
In accordance with Applicant's invention, a unique animal collar arrangement has been designed which provides proper insulation for the electrodes of an electric shock generator carried on an animal collar while permitting the electric shock generator to be mounted with facility onto the animal collar. Reinforcement of the collar holes is also effected to inhibit tearing or undue wear.